Vostro 3xxx series - Installation and dual boot guide

[Astarael]

I have a little suggestion for those, who are still fighting speedstep (don't give up, there has to be a way to run it just because mobo chipset and core iX are both used in real macbooks).

In DSDT in VostroPack I found a few lines:

    Name (W98S, "Microsoft Windows")
    Name (NT5S, "Microsoft Windows NT")
    Name (WINM, "Microsoft WindowsME: Millennium Edition")
    Name (WXP, "Windows 2001")
    Name (WLG, "Windows 2006")
    Name (WIN7, "Windows 2009")
    Name (LNX, "Linux")

See it? No Darwin. Some brands (IBM, Dell...) use OS checking in ACPI tables and then load modules depending on them, hell if I know why.
I don't think that will solve problem (I bet it's case of bad PR scope) but maybe it's one of a few things vostro uses need to do in order of getting PM work.
Try changing last line (or adding another) like this:

    Name (LNX, "Darwin")

Then... write new PR section from from scratch, I guess...

Sorry for my English,
Astarael

 

[minihack]

@Minihack
Sorry Minihack,
as earlier I do appreciate your work.
I don't to be a pain, I did not want you to rush either.
I'm thankful.

So here is some info It maybe could help solving my issues. I don't have a Intel HD, It does not show up in Win7 hardware overview thing. (Enhetshanteraren in Swedish)

I have this hardware:

System Model: Vostro 3700
BIOS: BIOS Date: 01/09/10 15:17:22 Ver: 08.00.10
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU Q 720 @ 1.60GHz (8 CPUs)
Memory: 6GB RAM
HDD: WD SCORPIO BLACK 750GB 7200RPM 

Display Devices
Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M
Display Memory: 1024.0 MB
Current Mode: 1600 x 900 (32 bit) (60Hz)

Sound Devices

Description: IDT Audio

I'll try some more in the weekend and see what happens.

Could you say how to install this with Multibeast and simply adding the remaining kexts, just to see if it makes any difference?

I will post a guide If I'll get this thing going.

Hi Blackshore,
That's okay. Sometimes things get lost in translation and I know there is much to do in getting these Vostros sorted for everyone.
It's really good that you just have Nvidia as that should actually make your job much easier.
I should have a bit of time this weekend to load some screenshots into the guide so people can see exactly what they are doing a bit better. Also, if you just have a 3700 with pure Nvidia then I think I have a DSDT from an older BIOS that should get you going a bit better.

 

[minihack]

I have a little suggestion for those, who are still fighting speedstep (don't give up, there has to be a way to run it just because mobo chipset and core iX are both used in real macbooks).

In DSDT in VostroPack I found a few lines:

    Name (W98S, "Microsoft Windows")
    Name (NT5S, "Microsoft Windows NT")
    Name (WINM, "Microsoft WindowsME: Millennium Edition")
    Name (WXP, "Windows 2001")
    Name (WLG, "Windows 2006")
    Name (WIN7, "Windows 2009")
    Name (LNX, "Linux")

See it? No Darwin. Some brands (IBM, Dell...) use OS checking in ACPI tables and then load modules depending on them, hell if I know why.
I don't think that will solve problem (I bet it's case of bad PR scope) but maybe it's one of a few things vostro uses need to do in order of getting PM work.
Try changing last line (or adding another) like this:

    Name (LNX, "Darwin")

Then... write new PR section from from scratch, I guess...

Sorry for my English,
Astarael

Most people recommend using the same values for Darwin as are loaded for Windows 2006.

It is something for people to try. I did it in the past, but as with everything on DSDT if you make a simple mistake then it is quite possible for a "fix" to go wrong.

The more people experiment, the more chance we have of getting this working 100%.

 

[minihack]

@Kalapragu - did you try adding your device ID and Vendor ID for the card reader into the Injector.kext plist?

 

[minihack]

Hey Blackshore,
I just looked at the spec.s for your 750GB hard disk and am wondering if the problem I had this week is the same problem you are having.
I have been changing to a 1TB hard disk that has two platters (so does your 750GB disk) and found that no way did it want to boot with Chameleon when I formatted with HFS+ and GUID. I would do the install again and again and Chameleon would always give me the same error you report.
The ONLY way I could get Chameleon to install and work was to format the disk HFS+ and MBR.
This problem drove me nuts and it might be helpful for you to try that solution and see if it works.

(By the way a 1TB disk doesn't fit in a 3500 easily!).

 

[kalapragu]

@Kalapragu - did you try adding your device ID and Vendor ID for the card reader into the Injector.kext plist?

No i haven't tried that (i don't know how ).
I would appreciate your help finding that out.
I found one kext called:AnyCardReader.kext

Also what about multitouch trackpad?
what comes in wireless dell 1520, then i found a topic in tonymacx86 that where said that 1510 is a working card OOTB!
the price in ebay was approx 23 £, and i ordered that (crossing fingers that it works)


One other thing i noticed that after combo update 10.6.6 i can now use fn + arrow s up and down to change panel light contrast and it doesn't ask me to if i would like to sleep shut down or restart.

 

[minihack]

Hi Kalapragu

Do you still have a windows install? If you do, then download Everest trial and make a hardware report and post it on this thread. It tells a lot of stuff about your hardware and can be used to patch the "injector.kext" that we use in Extra/extensions to help recognise some card readers. It is worth a try.

Yes, the 1510 does work out of the box and is a good choice!

The function keys for the brightness work because of the voodoops2controller.kext we use (and because of the device-properties string in the boot plist and the Device (PNLF) in the DSDT!).

I didn't understand what you said about the shutdown, sleep etc. can you explain that again. Thanks.

 

[unix68]

i am running Snow Leopard 10.6.6
The battery icon appears in the menu bar but says :
No Batteries Available
Power Source : Battery
even though it is running on power adapter !
I first used VoodooBattery.kext when i installed Snow Leopard (never worked, showed an "X" inside battery icon).
I then followed Minihack's advice and changed kexts. I'm now using AppleACPIBatteryManagement.kext in Extra\Extensions (no better results !)
I even tried SlimBatteryMonitor but icon never appears in menu bar.
Dell Battery type : 7FJ92
AC/DC Adapter : Model DA90PE1-00
Has anymone had success with these models ?
Do i have to patch PowerManagement.bundle or any other file ?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[minihack]

i am running Snow Leopard 10.6.6
The battery icon appears in the menu bar but says :
No Batteries Available
Power Source : Battery
even though it is running on power adapter !
I first used VoodooBattery.kext when i installed Snow Leopard (never worked, showed an "X" inside battery icon).
I then followed Minihack's advice and changed kexts. I'm now using AppleACPIBatteryManagement.kext in Extra\Extensions (no better results !)
I even tried SlimBatteryMonitor but icon never appears in menu bar.
Dell Battery type : 7FJ92
AC/DC Adapter : Model DA90PE1-00
Has anymone had success with these models ?
Do i have to patch PowerManagement.bundle or any other file ?

Any help would be appreciated.

Do me a favour. Open Terminal and type "sudo kextstat". Save the output from terminal as a text file and post it. Let's see what you have loading.....

 

[kalapragu]

Hi Kalapragu

Do you still have a windows install? If you do, then download Everest trial and make a hardware report and post it on this thread. It tells a lot of stuff about your hardware and can be used to patch the "injector.kext" that we use in Extra/extensions to help recognise some card readers. It is worth a try.

Yes, the 1510 does work out of the box and is a good choice!

The function keys for the brightness work because of the voodoops2controller.kext we use (and because of the device-properties string in the boot plist and the Device (PNLF) in the DSDT!).

I didn't understand what you said about the shutdown, sleep etc. can you explain that again. Thanks.

I don't have windows no more, never had, had different versions of linux.
With sleep and shut down i ment, that when i pressed combo with fn and arrows up or down, then instead of dimming the display it showed me a small question box, where it asked me if i'd like to shut down or sleep or restart, now it is gone, it was before i was on version 10.6.5, but after update to 10.6.6 it was gone and the display light dimming worked like a charm.

Is there a way to get to know the cardreader device info with linux, if there is i will try. I will boot up from usb stick and try to get info.

Till then